Phoenix from the Ashes
by Erin Salvatore
Summary: AU. Klaus decides to give Caroline a more personal thank you for cheering him up. Stand-alone one shot based on Chapter 65 of "Eternal Flame."


**Phoenix from the Ashes**

**by Erin Salvatore**

**Disclaimer: I don't own the Vampire Diaries. I'm just borrowing.**

_**Note: Don't ask, but I thought I'd do a stand-alone one shot based on a one shot I did for "Eternal Flame," Chapter 65, "An Unexpected Call." In fact, you could call it a follow up to that chapter. It's Klaroline, in case you're wondering.**_

_**As I said, don't ask, just take it as it's written.**_

_Mystic Falls, Early Morning..._

**T**he rays of the rising sun gave a soft glow to the sleepy town square as Caroline Forbes sat in the bench located across from the Mystic Grill. She had come here to this spot to think, mostly about the phone call she received from Klaus after she basically told that little asshole, Tyler Lockwood, to get over being an immature jerk or get out of her life. It wasn't that she regretted it, no sir, she actually _enjoyed_ telling him off like that. Obviously, she had no room for someone like that. In fact, she didn't know why she wasted her senior year of high school on him, especially if she was going to be treated like this.

Suddenly, the blonde vampire got the feeling that she wasn't entirely alone out here. The only question was, who was here besides her? Elena? No, she had her own shit to deal with. Bonnie? No, definitely not her either. Tyler? Yeah, right. Besides, she told him to get out of her life, so why would she think he was there?

Standing up, Caroline looked every which way to see whose presence she was feeling around her. That was when she felt a hand over her eyes, as well as the soft, accented whisper of a familiar voice, saying, "Hello, Caroline."

She immediately recognized the voice and blurred out of his grip, facing him. "Klaus, what are you doing here? I thought you were in New Orleans?"

"I was thinking about our phone conversation last night, as I assume you did too." He saw her give him a quizzical look. "Oh, come now, you know which I'm referring to. I called you after you told Tyler off."

"Oh, right, that one," said Caroline, finally realizing what he was talking about. "I'm sorry, I had all this other bullshit on my mind that I sort of forgot about that." She sighed. "Anyway, yes, I did think about it. You really didn't have to call me, even though I did appreciate it after what I went through after that immature little asshole found out about us."

Curiously, she added, "How are you holding up? I know Rebekah's departure was upsetting for you."

"As good as can be expected," said Klaus. "I hated to see her leave, but as I told her, we were too broken to stay together, and the best solution was for her to leave, so I gave her the freedom she's always desired."

"And does Elijah know you're here?"

"No, and I prefer it to be kept that way," said Klaus. "What I do is my business, not my brother's. Besides, he has his own affairs to concern himself with, especially since he needs time to recover from what happened between us in the cemetery. Knowing Elijah as I do, he'll bounce back, strong as ever."

Caroline was about to ask what happened, but decided not to. After all, it wasn't her business. For a few minutes, there was silence between them until Caroline couldn't take it anymore and decided to speak. "Did you want to go somewhere else and talk? For some reason, I really don't want to stay here in the square."

Klaus nodded. "Of course, love. Lead the way."

Caroline smiled and blurred out of the town square, Klaus following after her. After what seemed like forever, they arrived at the falls, which seemed to be quite beautiful against the light of the sun, which was getting even higher in the sky with each passing hour.

Klaus smiled as he surveyed the scene around them. It seemed to be a very peaceful spot, the kind of spot that one could come to be alone with one's thoughts. He made a mental note to do a sketch of the place when he got back to New Orleans, since he wanted to capture the beauty of it forever.

"You have a good taste in private places, love," he said. "I kind of wish I didn't leave Mystic Falls. Otherwise, we would've chosen _this_ spot in which to have our moment."

Caroline said nothing to that, just nodded. Sighing, she went over to him and embraced him, kissing him passionately. Klaus returned the kiss immediately, tasting her lips and moaning as he enjoyed the taste of them. Shit, this was definitely what he needed after the agony of watching Rebekah leave, even if it _was_ for the best. They continued to kiss for about ten minutes until Caroline stepped back, reluctantly breaking the kiss, looking into his greenish blue eyes with her blue ones.

"You have no idea how much I missed that."

Her words brought a smile to his face. "Believe me, love, I did too. Just hearing your voice on the phone last night wasn't enough. I needed to be here in person, to show you how much I appreciated it."

Caroline returned his smile. "The feeling is mutual. After the bullshit I went through last night, seeing you again has made me forget about it."

Klaus smiled again and, without a word, attacked her lips again, savoring the moment between them.

_**Note: Yeah, this is a stand-alone one shot. I could add it to "Eternal Flame," but I thought I'd keep it as stand-alone. Enjoy and remember to keep the faith!**_


End file.
